HTTPS Connections Fail After You Upgrade to Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack (IIS 4.0) and Enable SSL (289582)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Internet Information Server 4.0
This article was previously published under Q289582
We strongly recommend that all users upgrade to Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) version 6.0 running on Microsoft Windows Server 2003. IIS 6.0 significantly increases Web infrastructure security. For more information about IIS security-related topics, visit the following Microsoft Web site:

http://www.microsoft.com/technet/security/prodtech/IIS.mspx

IMPORTANT: This article contains information about modifying the registry. Before you modify the registry, make sure to back it up and make sure that you understand how to restore the registry if a problem occurs. For information about how to back up, restore, and edit the registry, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

256986 Description of the Microsoft Windows Registry

SYMPTOMS

After you upgrade from previous versions of Internet Information Server (IIS) to the Microsoft Windows NT 4.0 Option Pack (IIS 4.0) and enable Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), browsers may fail to connect through HTTPS. The browser may return one of the following error messages:
Page Cannot Be Displayed

-or-

Page Cannot Be Found

CAUSE

This problem occurs when the Filter Dlls registry entry is left with an invalid path to the Sspifilt.dll file after you upgrade.

RESOLUTION

WARNING: If you use Registry Editor incorrectly, you may cause serious problems that may require you to reinstall your operating system. Microsoft cannot guarantee that you can solve problems that result from using Registry Editor incorrectly. Use Registry Editor at your own risk.

To resolve this problem, make sure that Sspifilt.dll is not loaded in the legacy W3SVC registry entry as follows:
  1. On the Start menu, click Run, and then type regedt32.
  2. In Registry Editor, locate the HKEY_Local_Machine\System\CurrentControlSet\Services\W3SVC\Parameters\Filter Dlls registry key.
  3. Double-click Filter Dlls to display the string value.
  4. Delete the path entry for Sspifilt.dll (which is <Drive>\WINNT\System32\Inetsrv\Sspifilt.dll by default.)
  5. Click OK to close the String Editor.
  6. Restart the server for the changes to take effect.
Modification Type:MinorLast Reviewed:6/23/2005
Keywords:kbpending kbprb KB289582
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